Kongolo: ‘I want war with Holzken in Copenhagen’

Yoann Kongolo challenges reigning champion Nieky Holzken for the GLORY welterweight title this Saturday in Copenhagen, Denmark. A professional boxer as well as kickboxer, he says he wants “total war” with Holzken and is confident that he can produce a knockout victory as well.

“I have never lost by KO but Nieky has, more than once. So I don’t really have any prediction to make but if the fight is not finished by points then it will not be me who loses by KO. This is five rounds and I want make a f–€”king war with him. I want to kick his ass,” he tells Bloody Elbow in an animated phone call from Amsterdam, where he is training at Mike’s Gym.

“I think everyone wants a new champion, I think everyone is bored of Nieky Holzken now, his time is finished. So actually yeah, I can make a prediction: I will win by f–€”king knockout man, I want to show to everybody who is the boss. The new boss. I really don’t want the fight to be about points, I want to finish him, kill him. I want to take his belt.”

Lest there be any doubt about Kongolo’s intentions, he is keen to make clear that he is not just trying to hype this Saturday’s fight. “I want to finish Holzken and every opponent after him. I want to stay number one. New champion, new generation. I don’t want to just talk like this in interviews, I want to show you in the ring. You will see.”

At the same time, Kongolo also makes clear that he respects Holzken. He just thinks that the odds might be stacked in his own favor for this Saturday’s encounter. “I think he’s a good fighter. He is not the champion for nothing, everyone knows he is a top fighter,” he says.

“But he also knows he has everything to lose. Everyone wants what he has got, but I am a new guy, I have got nothing to lose. If I lose this fight, so what? I come back again. But it’s different when you are the guy with something to lose.

“I am really excited for this fight. I am really confident, I am ready. I am working with Mike and all the the guys at Mike’s Gym and I am really strong right now. My boxing and kicking is really good right now. Everything is good for this fight.”

Last year Kongolo spent several months at the Mayweather gym in Las Vegas, Nevada in pursuance of his professional boxing aspirations. Holzken, 10-0 as a boxer himself, has also spent time at Mayweather’s gym and other locations in Las Vegas in pursuance of the same aim. In fact this Saturday’s fight matches probably the two best boxers in the present kickboxing scene.

“Yeah Nieky is a good boxer, but I am a good boxer also. We both trained in Las Vegas, yes” says Kongolo. “But when I talk to friends of mine out in Vegas who have seen him working out there, they have said to me ‘hey, don’t worry about this guy, you will kill him.’ So that makes me feel confident also.”

Boxing isn’t the only thing Kongolo has been working on.

“You can hear maybe that I am practising my English. It’s better no? In the future I think maybe I will be living in Las Vegas for my boxing career and I will need to speak English,” he says. “But also I am practising because I am going to be the new champion of GLORY next week and I need to be able to talk to the fans afterwards.”

GLORY 29 COPENHAGEN takes place this Saturday at the Forum Copenhagen in Copenhagen, Denmark with Holzken (88-11, 46 KO’s) and Kongolo (61-6, 45 KO’s) in the headline slot. The ESPN-televised card (live on ESPN 3, delayed on ESPN 2) also features a four-man heavyweight tournament.

It will be preceded by the GLORY 29 SUPERFIGHT SERIES card airing live on Fight Pass, with recent attempted murder survivor Zack ‘The Black Warrior’ Mwekassa in the headline slot against French counterpart Zinedane Hameur-Lain.

Yoann Kongolo challenges reigning champion Nieky Holzken for the GLORY welterweight title this Saturday in Copenhagen, Denmark. A professional boxer as well as kickboxer, he says he wants “total war” with Holzken and is confident that he can produce a knockout victory as well.

“I have never lost by KO but Nieky has, more than once. So I don’t really have any prediction to make but if the fight is not finished by points then it will not be me who loses by KO. This is five rounds and I want make a f–€”king war with him. I want to kick his ass,” he tells Bloody Elbow in an animated phone call from Amsterdam, where he is training at Mike’s Gym.

“I think everyone wants a new champion, I think everyone is bored of Nieky Holzken now, his time is finished. So actually yeah, I can make a prediction: I will win by f–€”king knockout man, I want to show to everybody who is the boss. The new boss. I really don’t want the fight to be about points, I want to finish him, kill him. I want to take his belt.”

Lest there be any doubt about Kongolo’s intentions, he is keen to make clear that he is not just trying to hype this Saturday’s fight. “I want to finish Holzken and every opponent after him. I want to stay number one. New champion, new generation. I don’t want to just talk like this in interviews, I want to show you in the ring. You will see.”

At the same time, Kongolo also makes clear that he respects Holzken. He just thinks that the odds might be stacked in his own favor for this Saturday’s encounter. “I think he’s a good fighter. He is not the champion for nothing, everyone knows he is a top fighter,” he says.

“But he also knows he has everything to lose. Everyone wants what he has got, but I am a new guy, I have got nothing to lose. If I lose this fight, so what? I come back again. But it’s different when you are the guy with something to lose.

“I am really excited for this fight. I am really confident, I am ready. I am working with Mike and all the the guys at Mike’s Gym and I am really strong right now. My boxing and kicking is really good right now. Everything is good for this fight.”

Last year Kongolo spent several months at the Mayweather gym in Las Vegas, Nevada in pursuance of his professional boxing aspirations. Holzken, 10-0 as a boxer himself, has also spent time at Mayweather’s gym and other locations in Las Vegas in pursuance of the same aim. In fact this Saturday’s fight matches probably the two best boxers in the present kickboxing scene.

“Yeah Nieky is a good boxer, but I am a good boxer also. We both trained in Las Vegas, yes” says Kongolo. “But when I talk to friends of mine out in Vegas who have seen him working out there, they have said to me ‘hey, don’t worry about this guy, you will kill him.’ So that makes me feel confident also.”

Boxing isn’t the only thing Kongolo has been working on.

“You can hear maybe that I am practising my English. It’s better no? In the future I think maybe I will be living in Las Vegas for my boxing career and I will need to speak English,” he says. “But also I am practising because I am going to be the new champion of GLORY next week and I need to be able to talk to the fans afterwards.”

GLORY 29 COPENHAGEN takes place this Saturday at the Forum Copenhagen in Copenhagen, Denmark with Holzken (88-11, 46 KO’s) and Kongolo (61-6, 45 KO’s) in the headline slot. The ESPN-televised card (live on ESPN 3, delayed on ESPN 2) also features a four-man heavyweight tournament.

It will be preceded by the GLORY 29 SUPERFIGHT SERIES card airing live on Fight Pass, with recent attempted murder survivor Zack ‘The Black Warrior’ Mwekassa in the headline slot against French counterpart Zinedane Hameur-Lain.